A New City and New Temple

Ezekiel 40:1-16

1 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the LORD was upon me; and He took me there. 2 In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city. 3 He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze. He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.

4 And the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see." 5 Now there was a wall all around the outside of the temple. In the man's hand was a measuring rod six cubits long, each being a cubit and a handbreadth; and he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.

6 Then he went to the gateway which faced east; and he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway, which was one rod wide, and the other threshold was one rod wide. 7 Each gate chamber was one rod long and one rod wide; between the gate chambers was a space of five cubits; and the threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gate was one rod. 8 He also measured the vestibule of the inside gate, one rod. 9 Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and the gateposts, two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was on the inside. 10 In the eastern gateway were three gate chambers on one side and three on the other; the three were all the same size; also the gateposts were of the same size on this side and that side.

11 He measured the width of the entrance to the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. 12 There was a space in front of the gate chambers, one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side; the gate chambers were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side. 13 Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one gate chamber to the roof of the other; the width was twenty-five cubits, as door faces door. 14 He measured the gateposts, sixty cubits high, and the court all around the gateway extended to the gatepost. 15 From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule of the inner gate was fifty cubits. 16 There were beveled window frames in the gate chambers and in their intervening archways on the inside of the gateway all around, and likewise in the vestibules. There were windows all around on the inside. And on each gatepost were palm trees.

This vision of Ezekiel reminds us of the description of the temple in heaven and the New Jerusalem which will come to earth at the new creation of our world.  It may not be the description of the same one John was shown, but the parallels are quite striking.  Either way the glory of the heavenly man appearing like brass and showing it all to Ezekiel must have left him in absolute awe and he would have wondered how to describe it to Israel then and all readers afterwards.  The glimpses of heavenly things do not fit our vocabulary, let alone provide our imaginations with a clear picture of these as were shown to the messengers of God to tell us for His purposes.  Ezekiel was shown a city on a hill which we can imagine was Jerusalem then or to come.  The man of bronze appearance commanded him in the name of the LORD to observe and measure for accurate picture of what he was being shown.  The command was to “look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you,” that he might tell Israel and all God’s people to follow what God as going to make, whether in heaven or upon earth.  He measured a wall surrounding the temple.  He measured the Eastern Gateway of the temple, the vestibules (porches), the rooms, and the gateposts.  Then he measured the entrance to the gateways and even the gate and the spaces by the gates and the distance between them so the blueprint of the building could be visualized by the hearers.  Even the window frames were observed and measured along with noting the palm trees on the gateposts.  Such a detailed account meant much to the Jews who had lost their temple of worship years ago and Jerusalem with it where the LORD had promised to meet and live with them.  This was a great encouragement and affirmation that God had not forsaken them and had a future of hope to come mapped out and designed down to the last detail.  They saw it as the restoration of a leveled city and temple, but we now look further ahead to the end of time when the heavenly pattern is not for men to use as a blueprint to rebuild that temple on earth, but as a description of God’s handiwork of the original in heaven (Hebrews 8:5, Revelation 21:15-21) which He promises to bring down to earth (Revelation 21:2) to dwell in as a place to see Him finally face to face (Job 19:25-27, Revelation 21:22)!  This is the new temple of God Himself and the Lamb slain for a an eternal sacrifice to redeem us.  The New Jerusalem is the place where God will bring down the original heavenly pattern to us that we might worship in spirit and truth before His face forevermore.  It is also the place of His glory to behold.  What an awe-inspiring message for us all transcending what Ezekiel could ever begin to imagine!  This is the long-expected new city and temple for all God’s chosen people.